Michael Phelps, Dara Torres, Aquaman and me, by Martha Thomases
Watching the Olympics, like so many other things, reminds me of super-heroes.
Not that I watch a lot of the Olympics. The jingoistic nationalism of the coverage disturbs me. While I admire the perseverance and determination and hard work of the athletes, I don’t find it particularly heroic. Heroism, I think, involves putting yourself out for the benefit of others. Competing in the Olympics may be a way to test oneself, to try to attain an ideal of physical perfection and international harmony, but it doesn’t benefit others. Unless, that is, your idea of benefiting others is enriching the corporate coffers of the sponsors, the networks, and the governments that use their victories for propaganda purposes.
But I digress …
To look at me, you would not think that there was a time when I could have been an Olympic-level athlete.
And you’d be right.
However, I was on a swim team for most of a decade. From the time I was five until I aged out of the league at 15, I swam every summer for a local league, and every winter for the YMCA. This meant hours and hours every week, swimming laps until my eyes were red from chlorine (this was before racing goggles) and my lips were blue.
I loved being able to hold my breath for a long time, and I loved the way my body felt when I was slicing through the water. My body made sense, hips powerful enough to keep my torso level while I kicked. I loved wearing a racing tank, sleek and fast, like a superhero costume. Of course, I thought I was Atlantean, like Aquaman. It would be so much cooler if I could breathe underwater, like he could.
Writers complain that it’s hard to write stories for Aquaman, that his only powers are that he can breathe underwater and communicate with fish. Some examine the possibilities of the strength he must have to live under water, and how tough he must be to withstand the cold of the ocean. I think there’s an entire world to explore on the ocean floor, and that a character who can breathe water and air is inherently more versatile than one who can breathe only air. (more…)
We are incredibly sad to have to report that Robbie Greenberger, son of DC and Marvel alumni and ComicMix contributor 
In today’s brand-new episode of 
You have to hand it to Marvel Comics’ online marketing crew. From the viral success of their 
Fan-favorite writer Warren Ellis and artist Paul Duffield concluded the first chapter of their grand experiment in the webcomics world today, posting the 
The 
It’s another one of those weeks when I have to shoo the kids away; this time, Manga Friday looks at three books about sex. (This is all fairly mainstream stuff, not hentai and without any tentacles to be seen. But there are still naked body parts doing their thing, however tastefully.)
This is part two of the Milestone Media story I began last week. What follows is a brief overview of last’s week article.
